


Road Trip (Bucky x Reader)

by spiritdragon6



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers Assemble - Freeform, Awkwardness, Because this is a fic, Bucky Barnes - Freeform, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Remembers, But it's okay, But we still love him, Dancing, F/M, Feels, First Words, Hugs all around, James "Bucky" Barnes?, James - Freeform, James Barnes - Freeform, Missions, More like James "Yummy" Barnes, Natasha is a little shit, Or not, Protective Bucky Barnes, Road Trip, Sandwiches, Seattle, Soulmate AU, The Winter Soldier - Freeform, The winter soldier imagine, Theres always a problem, When was one of my fics always okay?, and kisses, bucky barnes fanfiction, bucky barnes imagine, but fluff too, but she is a glorious one, downtown seattle, first words au, ha, lol, missons gone wrong, nuu, omg I so wanna visit the space needle, prompt, request, the space needle, the winter soldier x reader - Freeform, there's this annoying woman who won't leave you alone, tony stark is a man child, who doesn't love a road trip?, who doesn't love kisses?, with his ultra supersized thighs of doom, you know what they say, you're never alone with a stalker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2016-06-12
Packaged: 2018-07-14 15:39:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7177703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiritdragon6/pseuds/spiritdragon6
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Request prompt: A story where Bucky and the reader meet. The first words are written on your skin. Preferably dealing with Bucky who had thought he was never going to meet his soulmate after falling through time, as well as the aftermath of him meeting the reader. I like the process of “now we’ve met, but we still have to get to know each other” and the uncertainty of if your soulmate will reject you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Road Trip (Bucky x Reader)

Tired, you walk around the corner of the corridor, a glass of water in hand. Your earphones are blasting music to help you remain awake, lest you fall asleep walking back to your room. So it's safe to say that you're not exactly paying attention to your surroundings as you go around that corner towards the elevator. Your eyes are droopy and you can't clearly see what you're walking into, but whatever it is, it makes a noise.

_Ah, so not a wall then._

You slam into the person. Due to surprise, your powers burst out of control. Your earphones fry in milliseconds and at the same time, your glass of water hisses and the glass explodes. You squeak as freezing water soaks your front.

_Well, that's certainly one way to wake me up._

You hear a quiet curse from the male and look up. _Well hello there, handsome_. It’s Bucky Barnes. Steve’s been meaning to introduce you to his best friend, but you keep getting called out on missions so you’ve actually not been able to meet him yet. Looks like you don’t need Steve for introductions, though. You rip out your now dead earphones and see that Bucky looks a little distressed. You follow his line of sight and see that his metal arm is hanging limply. _Oh fuck, my bad._

“Sorry I kinda disabled your arm,” you wince in embarrassment. “You caught me by surprise and I went a little scatty.” Bucky glances at you and frowns. You smile apologetically and reach out a hand. “I’m Y/N, by the way.” He looks down at your outstretched hand and hesitantly takes it with a nod. When he doesn’t say anything else, you fill the silence. “You should probably get Tony to take a look at that arm. I’m sorry for walking into you.” Bucky shrugs, but says nothing. You wonder why he’s not talking to you, but you’re aware that with his history being social may be difficult for him.

Bending over, you pick up the glass that’s rolling on the floor and decide to leave, the heavy silence getting a bit too awkward for you. “I’ll see you around,” you say, a little rushed. Bucky inclines his head at you in acknowledgement and you walk past him to the elevator.

It’s a bit odd that he didn’t say anything to you. _Not even a hello,_ you think with a frown. You sigh and look down at your drenched top, not thinking any more on the matter.

***

You step into the workshop the next day. You keep frying anything electrical on you accidently and it’s getting really frustrating. _I wonder if it’s possible for Tony to make a phone that doesn’t get affected by my powers. Only one way to find out._

As you enter the workshop, you see Bucky standing with Tony looking at some holograms of his arm. It seems that Bucky’s arm is up and working again. _Thank God I didn’t fry it._  You clear your throat and they both turn to see who’s there. Bucky immediately averts his gaze to the floor. You feel a tad bit hurt, but then again you did disable his arm last time you met him. “‘Sup, Y/N?” Tony quips with a smile. You hesitate, glancing at Bucky, but finally walk fully into the workshop. You whip out your burnt looking phone. Tony laughs at your disgusted grimace. “Cooked another one, I see.”

“Shut up,” you mutter, but your eyes glint with amusement. “I was wondering if you could make a phone that doesn’t go sparko when I overload.” Tony snorts.

“I’ll see what I can do. Must suck to be you - I swear you go through so much tech.” You roll your eyes. Tony takes the phone off of you with a fake hurt look at the burnt device. “Let's see what the bad girl's done to you.” You snort.

“Thanks.” You turn to Bucky who turned out to be looking at you. He looks away when you turn to him. Frowning, you say as cheerfully as you can. “Hope your arms doing okay. Sorry again for disabling it.” You wave at Tony who smiles at you. “Ciao,” and with that, you leave. A crease marks your forehead as you exit the workshop. Bucky doesn’t seem to want anything to do with you. _Next time I see him, I’ll give him something as an apology._ You nod, the corner of your mouth curling upwards. Tilting your head up, you think, now what can I give him?

***

“Hey Steve,” the man in question looks up at you and smiles. He has that look in his eyes; the one where he was reliving a memory just moments ago. You feel a small pinch of sadness whenever you see that hazed gaze. “I was wondering - what does Bucky like?” At this, Steve frowns, confused.

“Uh, well he likes pastries. But likes them heated up just slightly. Not hot, though. He also likes dancing and sightseeing and new technology.” Steve looks a little bewildered like your question has caught him off guard and now he’s got a mind blank. “Why’d you ask?” His eyes are soft and curious as they meet yours. You flash him a grin.

“Just tryna’ make a decent impression.” He smiles fondly.

“That’s nice of you.” You shrug and wave him goodbye as you head off.

“Thanks for the tips!” You yell to him as you retreat into the lift, a plan developing in your mind. Your goal is to at least get Bucky to say something to you. You breathe and straighten your spine, determination set in your stance.

***

Hours later, you return to the tower with a box of fresh and warm pastries in hand. It had taken you ages to find the best pastry shop; you didn’t want convenience, you wanted quality. Eventually, you found one that satisfied you.

Stepping into the communal floor, you call out, “I come bearing gifts!” There’s a whoop from the living room. You head in that direction to see Clint, Steve, Bucky, Wanda and Natasha seated in the room. Clint and Natasha are playing some kind of game on a console and it looks like Nat’s winning. Clint pauses the game anyway to see what you’ve brought.

“Smells great!” He leaps up to his feet, dashing over. You protectively hold the boxes against your chest, smacking his hands away. He pouts as you walk past him and plonk the boxes down onto the table in the room. You spot Steve smiling knowingly at the corner of your gaze, and you can’t help but feel a smile growing too. You glance up to see Natasha looking at the now open boxes with interest. Bucky seems to be curious too, as the smell starts to escape and diffuses around the room. You smack Clint’s hand away again.

“Bugger off,” you laugh. “Go get some plates for everyone.” He salutes you and you roll your eyes as he trots off faithfully. When he comes back, plates in hand, you take the plates and pastries and offer them around, starting with Bucky. Clint makes a whiney noise of protest that he’s not first, but you ignore him, holding your offerings out for Bucky. Bucky doesn’t move. You think he’s not going to take it and that he’s just going to sit there, so you start to feel anxious. But then he reaches forward and takes a plate and a pastry with a nod at you and a small smile. _Huh, still not talking then._ You offer the others some pastries and settle down with your own, wondering whatever in the world got Bucky’s knickers in a twist.

***

“I think he’s avoiding me.” You’re lying on the couch, staring at the ceiling. Natasha looks up from where she’s curled up on the sofa, reading a magazine. She gives you an odd look. “I mean, yeah, I kinda messed up his arm when we first met but that wasn’t on purpose. I bought him pastries for God’s sake! I asked Steve what to do and everything.” You pout childishly.

“Oh,” Natasha says with an air of knowing. “You’re talking about Bucky.” She flicks to a different page in her magazine.

“Yes, I’m talking about Bucky! He hasn’t said a word to me yet! Not even a “hi, how ya doin’”, nothin’!” At this, Natasha’s gaze turns sharp.

“He hasn’t said a word to you?” You shake your head. “I’ll talk to Steve,” she says, continuing to read her article. You sigh.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s just... I just don’t get it.” Natasha smiles and something tells you that she knows something that you don’t. You feel a small amount of dread build up inside of you and you’re not sure why.

***

Bucky trudges into the kitchen a day later, taking a seat next to you with a huff. You pause, freezing mid-bite with a sandwich in one hand, your fancy new phone in the other hand. You chew your mouthful and look at him curiously before placing your sandwich and phone down. “‘Sup, Buckaroo?” His nose twitches at the nickname. You rotate your plate and offer your other sandwich. “Want some?” He frowns at the sandwich, nose crinkling.

“I don’t like salad or eye contact.” You blink in surprise. You open your mouth to talk, but you just end up gaping like a twonk. You swallow thickly.

“Come again?” Your voice comes out an octave higher than usual. He grumbles incoherently at your squeaky voice.

“You heard me.” You blink owlishly. Those seven words have been tattooed onto your skin since you were born; the words of your soulmate. Your parents explained to you when you were little that the words would be the very first words your soulmate would ever say to you. At first, you were sceptical - _how does it work? What was the science behind it?_ But as you grew up, you cared less and less; no one was saying those words to you, so you began to lose hope and interest the older you grew. Eventually, you just didn't think about it any longer.

“Uh,” you clear your throat, still unable to fully comprehend the situation. “What are your words?” With a grunt, he pulls up the hem of his shirt to reveal the words, _“Sorry I kinda disabled your arm”_. You stare at them for a few dumbfound moments. “Huh.” You frown. “Okay.” You swallow again, the gulp audible. “So is that why you’ve been avoiding me?” He averts his gaze from you, sighs and nods, then gets up.

“I’ll see you around, Y/N,” he says, walking out of the room. You sit there, staring at your food but not really seeing it.

 _“What?”_ You breathe out, rubbing your head. “What the hell just happened?”

***

“It looks like you're going on a road trip,” Natasha sidles up to you with a smug look on her face. You squint up at her. Annoyingly, the sun is shining in your face. You're too comfortable to move, though. At your look of blinded confusion, she continues. “There's a mission that you're going on; you've got a suspect to hunt down. And you're in luck! The resident grumpy cat is going with you!” You frown.

“Bucky's coming with me?” Your nose crinkles. “But he doesn't like me.”

“Nonsense. You both just need more time to get to know each other.” You scratch your neck anxiously. “And anyway, if it goes completely wrong it's only for about five days, a week at most.” You wince. _A week? With someone who's avoiding me? Fun_. You sigh.

“When?” You think she smirks at you, but you can barely see - your eyes are starting to water from the sunlight.

“Tomorrow.” Natasha laughs as you howl and throw a cushion at her. She sneaks out of the room chuckling and you pout with a huff of annoyance.

_It's only going to be a week anyway... Right?_

***

You’re driving the car across Washington, heading for your destination in Seattle. You’ve already had an incredibly boring and anxious five-hour flight to get to Washington. _Tony could have got us a flight straight to Seattle, but oh no he had to make us drive._ You absolutely hate flying. You’re always fearful that your electrical powers will overload and shut down the plane, making it plummet. It’s never happened, but you always worry nonetheless. Bucky’s sat there quietly, keeping to himself. He’s barely said three words and you feel like you’ve had to bleed them out of him. Annoyed, you’ve resulted to just silence in the car.

You drum your fingers rhythmically against the steering wheel as you think. Bucky doesn’t seem to want to talk all that much, which really isn’t helpful. _I thought soulmates were supposed to just… click_. All the stories you’ve heard about soulmates are all happiness and rainbows - oh! They meet and suddenly everything is fine! They love each other and are inseparable. Your nose crinkles. Reality, it seems, is quite different. You sigh and think about something else.

Natasha said this mission would only be a short one; apparently you both just had to find a male suspect who was doing something or other. _I don’t know, I wasn’t given details._ All you really know is that they’re in Downtown Seattle and that they’re called John Finch. You’ve got a photo too, but that’s not really helpful until you know whereabouts he is in the area. You park the car in the nearby carpark and hoik on your rucksack, locking the car once Bucky’s got his things and heading towards the harbour. You walk in silence, _surprise surprise_ , and get to your room. Apparently not plural, _dammit Nat!_ You sneak a glance at Bucky with a nervous look before unlocking the door. There’s only one bed in the room and it makes you want to cry. _So not only does she go and book us a room to share, she only gets one with one bed. Fuckin’ typical._

You dump your bag off in the corner and head over to look out of the window. There’s a pretty sweet view of the sea outside; you can see workers fishing and bringing in their stocks too. You watch them for a few minutes before turning and seeing what Bucky’s doing. Looks like he’s suiting up in his ninja gear. With a grunt, you mentally acknowledge the fact that you should probably do the same. “We heading out for a lookout tonight?” Bucky hums in confirmation. There’s a beat of silence and you think that’s all he’ll say, but he surprises you by actually talking.

“Apparently this guy has been hoarding in some kind of technology and has been selling it out at expensive rates.” You snort. _Hardly sounds like an Avengers mission, but okay_. “I wasn’t told anything else.” You frown at your bag before finally walking over to it. You unzip it and dig around until your find your suit. You haul it out and head off to the bathroom to get changed. Once you’re done, you fold up your clothes and go into the room to get all of your weapons ready in your fancy little belt. You look outside. The sun is starting to set by now. You glance at the clock and see that it’s nearly nine.

You look over to see Bucky looking outside of the window with interest. Your nose twitches for a moment as you feel a spark of anxiety once again at having to share a room with him. You take a deep breath and manage to get your words out. “I’m gonna go on the lookout for our guy. I’ve got my phone on me if I need anything. I’ve got an earpiece too, but I can’t guarantee that’ll work - I fry most of mine accidentally.” Bucky inclines his head subtly in acknowledgement, and that’s all you get. You’re not that surprised.

You sigh and walk back into the bathroom. Hauling open the small window, you look down to determine whether or not you should climb out. You’re only the second story up, so you do decide to climb down. Dusting your palms as you reach the floor, you head in the direction of the tall buildings. Slowly, without much rush, you make your way over to Smith Tower, stopping at the base of the building and craning your head up to look at it. The height of the bloody thing makes you want to fall over backwards. _That’ll do for a vantage point._

You walk around the building, looking out for any cameras and areas where there are less civilians. You find a decent spot near a flashy looking sign. With a grin, you let your powers loose and turn into a small bolt of electricity. Shooting up through the electrical mains of the building, dashing through the power running through the hotel and up the floors, you propel yourself out of a socket and through an open window near the top. There, you create spheres of static electricity around your hands, which enable you to gently hover and gradually descend downwards. You direct yourself to the nearest window before grabbing on.

When you were younger, you and your brother used to run around and vault over things. If you were feeling particularly good, some days you’d even roll off of the tops of some buildings. As you grew up, your brother became an amazing parkour artist and he taught you some tricks. Now, with incredible ease, you use a combination of your electrical pulses and parkour skills to scale up to the roof of the building. You find a decent perch and look down to see that most of the buildings are starting to light up. You sit there for a while, finding peace up on the top of the tower. The wind blows quite harshly in your face, but you feel it only adds to the adventure of it all.

After a few moments of taking in the great view, you finally decide to get to work. You whip out your phone, which has somehow survived its journey through the building _(thank you, Tony Stark)_ and find the photo of the man you’re supposed to find. You look at some of the vague information you’ve got on him, and see that he seems to make most of his appearances at the Pike Place Market which isn’t too far from you. You stand and look over to some of the buildings to your right. They’re lower down, but that’s not a problem for you.

Without hesitation, you jump off of the edge of the building and, using a surge of electricity from your hands, you propel yourself forward about six metres and gently hover in the air, planning your next move as your feet touch down onto the roof of the building. You run speedily and scale a pipe to get to the next level on the building. Then you propel yourself off the roof to get to the next one, scaling that one too. You continue until you’re on the roof of a building directly next to the market. You gently crawl to the edge and peer down. Rolling off of the edge, you get a firm grip on the walls before descending down at a steady speed. In a small but bright flash of electricity, you zap onto the nearby glowing clock. You let go of it and land softly onto your feet. Nobody is looking up at you, thankfully, so you make your way over to the edge of the platform at take a seat. It’s a fairly good point to people watch and look out for suspects that look similar to the guy you’re after.

You’re so consumed with people watching that you almost accidently blow up the nearby light when your phone buzzes in your pocket. “Fucking hell,” you mutter and curse quietly, yanking your phone out and answering the call. “Y’ello?”

“What’s your twenty? I’ll come and join you.” _So the grumpy cat finally decides to come out of his pen to join me. How nice._ You smirk to yourself, imagining Bucky as a cat as you cross your legs and lean on your knee.

“I’m at the Pike Place Market. You should spot the neon sign. I’m sat next to it.”

“Alright,” Bucky says, then hangs up. _No goodbye? Come on my friend, make more effort. We’re supposed to be soulmates!_ You snort and pocket your phone again. It doesn’t take him long to find you, and he’s so subtle that you almost fall off of your perch when he slides to sit down next to you.

 _“Man,”_ you whistle quietly. “You gotta learn to be less stealthy around me. I spook hella easily.” You clutch your chest dramatically and he chuckles.

“Kinda goes against my style and training, but I’ll try and remember.” You sneak a glance at him and see his smile. He looks at you and you can see his eyes being lit up by the neon sign. You flash a grin back at him before you go back to people watching.

You sit there for the majority of the night chatting and laughing comfortably. At one point you swear he moves closer to you. There’s no sign of the guy you’re after and something tells you that Natasha’s faked the entire situation just to get you both together. Regardless, you’re actually enjoying Bucky’s presence for once. You just hope the feeling is mutual.

***

Nothing interesting happens that night, so you head back to the hotel. Bucky insists on sleeping on the floor and you’re too tired to argue so you just let him do that. The next day you wake up ridiculously early. Bucky appears to be snoozing on the floor, so you get changed into some normal looking clothes and pocket your phone. You decide not to slip any extra weapons on you; you don’t think you’ll need them. Bucky appears to still be asleep. Feeling naughty, you go up on your toes and lean over to see his face. _Oh my God, he looks adorable asleep_. You pull out your phone as quietly as you can and snap a photo. A huge grin on your face, you sneak out of the room with an intention of exploring the nearby area in daylight. Not before sending the photo to Steve and Natasha, of course.

Your smile falters a little as you walk around. _Am I supposed to feel some kind of connection with him? I don’t get it._ It’s safe to say that you and Bucky aren’t exactly like regular soulmates. _Ignoring the fact we’re Avengers, anyway._ You scratch your neck, deep in thought. You’re not really sure how this ‘soulmate’ thing is going to work out between you. Bucky sleeps on the floor, has his back to you most of the time, and doesn’t talk to you all that much. It’s hardly easy to strike up a conversation like normal people and find some similarities. _I guess I should cut him some slack, he’s been through a lot of shit._  You sigh. _But still, is this going to work between us?_ You rub your forehead to clear it.

Downtown Seattle is fairly busy. You’ve never actually been before. Even though you’re used to New York and the tall buildings, you’re still fascinated by the height of everything and all of the busy cars driving about. You plug your earphones into your phone and blast some exciting music into your ears as you explore. You walk around near the docks for a while with no particular aim. It’s a nice morning; the sky is really clear and the weather is warm but not too hot to cope. You look around and decide to scale a building. Jogging over to it, you check that no one is looking your way before scaling the building up to the roof. You sit at the top, legs dangling over the edge while you bob your head to the beat of the music.

Eventually deciding to jump from building to building for entertainment, you prance around but keep an eye out for anyone who looks like your suspect. For a while your mind strays to Bucky again. You wonder what’s going through his mind. _Hey, maybe he thinks about me too. Who knows?_ You don’t know much about Bucky Barnes, but you’re determined to find out. You at least want to make more of an effort to get along with him, but you just don’t know where to start. _Maybe I’m thinking too much about this, maybe I should just let it happen._

Eventually, you spot someone who you think looks like the suspect. The male has his dull blond hair slicked back and he’s wearing some kind of leather jacket. You whip out your phone to see if you can figure out if the guy is the right man. He looks very similar… He’s got some kind of rucksack on and he keeps checking his phone as he walks. You decide to follow him.

Subtly jumping and leaping across the roofs of the buildings, you stop your music and dial Bucky’s number. He picks up almost instantly. “Yeah, I think I found our guy.” You hear a vague grunt that sounds like confirmation. “I’ll set up my GPS so you can find me.” You hang up before he can reply and switch on your GPS. Then, speeding onto a building in front of the man you get a good look at his face. _Oh, it’s him alright._

You send a text to Bucky. _It’s him, Buckaroo_ . Not a minute later you get a reply. _Tail him._ Watching the man walk down the path between the buildings, you start to wonder what exactly is in his backpack. Your curiosity gets the better of you and you accidently walk into some kind of satellite dish when you’re not fully paying attention. It clangs awfully loudly. You swear and leap away from the edge of the building as the man looks up. _Oh, crap._

You peek over the edge of the building after a few seconds to see the man continuing on. Deciding it might be better if you switch sides, you step back and run, leaping over the edge of the building and propelling yourself onto the one opposite. You roll and stand before following the man again. It’s a good job you did switch sides, as the male keeps looking over his shoulder to that side of the street. Eventually, he disappears into some kind of abandoned building and doesn’t come out.

You frown and chew your lip. _I really want to follow this guy, but I should probably wait for Bucky._ You sigh and settle down, waiting for him to arrive. You don’t know what’s going on in there, so you think it’s probably the best idea to wait.

It doesn’t actually take Bucky long to arrive. He sidles up silently next to you, crouching. “He in there?” You nod.

“No one’s actually come out yet. We should probably wait this out until it’s darker and sneak in.” Bucky agrees and the long wait begins.

***

At some point Bucky keeps watch and you dash off to a local store to get some grub. You return with some funky looking fruit and some wraps. Together you sit and eat silently. You break the silence. “So, this is our official first date as soulmates.” You bite into your food and continue with your mouth full. “If you can class this as a first date, anyway,” you say, jokily. Bucky snorts, but says nothing. Thoughts dart around your head, pressuring your mouth to voice them. You want to talk to Bucky properly; you want to chat, to get to know him better. Now isn’t the best time, though. Not when you’re so close to the suspect.

Nothing exotic happens with the warehouse. Instead, you spend your time imagining actually going on a date with Bucky. _I wonder what he looks like in suit…_ You play dress up with your mental Bucky, smiling but trying to hide it. Bucky does notice. He looks at you with curious glances, a question in his gaze. Your thoughts go really weird the more bored you get.You dress Bucky up in a dress, just because you can. You have to suppress your giggles, though, and you don’t do a very good job of it. _Hey, I wonder what Bucky looks like in a corset._ You consider it and cringe. _Abort, abort, oh dear God that’s a fucking weird image._ You rub your forehead awkwardly. _I’ve spent too much time around Tony._ Changing the topic, you wonder what types of food and drink Bucky loves. You wonder if you were to ask, would he answer? Or would he just look at you with a strange expression? You sigh out of your nose. You do want to breach the topic of you both being soulmates, but you just don’t know how. You’re kind of hoping that Bucky saves you from your stressing and asks you to save your sanity.

By the time it gets dark, only one person has exited the building. It was a hooded female; certainly not the person you were after. You observe her as she walks away, not really caring all that much who she is. Once it’s dark enough, you look at Bucky, seeing him nod. Nodding yourself, you then grab hold of a pipe and use it to crawl down the side of the building before hopping off at the bottom. Not a moment later, Bucky hops off to land beside you. It's so much easier to move around in the dark without being detected, but it can also be harder to navigate.

You ease your way quietly over to the building and hoist yourself up to climb in. The window is shattered, the glass all around the stone floor as you step down. Some of it cracks beneath your feet. You freeze for a second, but quickly push on. Together you get your bearings in the empty... _warehouse? I think it's a warehouse._ Bucky makes a gesture to the next area of the floor and holds up a gun. “I'll cover you,” he whispers, almost too quiet to hear. You sneak over and press yourself flat against the wall nearest the empty doorframe. Then, preparing yourself to attack, you shift closer to the door.

_Three, two, one._

You turn the corner and end up wishing you never did.

You’re shocked to see the figures of many dead policemen littered around, their pools of blood lit up in the moonlight coming through the shattered windows. The authorities didn’t come in whilst you were watching, so this either happened before you arrived or up to a few days earlier. “This is bad,” you summarise, looking around. Cautiously stepping over the mutilated bodies you try to dodge pools of blood. Finally reaching a clear spot where it's safe to place both feet down, you analysing the area for any clues, trying to ignore the lifeless eyes of the bodies. It turns out you're standing next to the corpse of the man you were looking for. If you could even call that a corpse. _Good God, what did they do to his face?_ You turn away with mounting nausea.

Your eyes settle on a spot with something that looks like writing that spans over the side of the wall. You send a small sphere of electricity into the air which lights up the area for a few seconds before disappearing with a quiet hiss. But a few seconds is long enough to read the massive curvy writing.

Your eyes widen as you realise the creepy sentence written is not only creepy, it's also written in the blood of the victims. The words in cursive, flowery writing, read: _Cut off one head and two more shall grow in its place_. “Oh, _this is bad_.”

“You said that already.” Bucky doesn’t sound too impressed as he enters the room. There are a few light taps as he makes his way towards you gradually, stepping over the littered bodies. He joins you and looks around, his eyes finally settling onto your rapidly shifting facial expressions.

“It seemed worth repeating.” You say absently, with a now horrified expression. You can’t seem to tear your eyes away from that wall.

“Why? What did you find.” You swallow thickly with hesitation, sending another glowing electrical sphere into the air. The bloody words glint in the light. You glance down and see Bucky’s hands curl into fists. “This is bad,” he agrees, his voice tight. You hum quietly as the glow fades, dimming the writing to a shade that makes it almost impossible to spot. _Oh yeah,_ you think. _This is definitely bad._

***

“Something's messing with my phone,” you mutter to yourself. “Crap,” you hold the power button and tap the screen but nothing's working. “It's busted.” You look over to Bucky's who's also checking over his gear.

“Same here. Ear piece is out too.” Your face twists unpleasantly.

“We should head back to the hotel.” Bucky agrees and you steadily make your way back to the hotel, using the roofs of buildings to hide from civilians below. At some point, you crawl down a building when nobody is around in the night. When Bucky joins you on the floor, you both walk back in silence.

You can't shake the images of those bodies in your head. Those lifeless eyes… You press a hand to your forehead. _That's just… so wrong._ You sigh and lower your hand. Out of the corner of your eyes, you keep seeing Bucky clenching and unclenching his fists every now and then. You don't know anything personal about what happened to him, but you know whatever it was, it was HYDRA's fault. Your jaw clenches when you remember the words written in blood. _Such a fucking annoying slogan. Anyway, the logo isn’t even a hydra dragon, it’s a fucking squid._

After about thirty minutes of walking in the dark, you finally arrive back at the hotel. You unlock the door and as soon as you step in you know something is wrong. You stop in the doorway and Bucky nearly walks into you. You breathe in, entering and dropping your frazzled phone onto the bed. Then you head over to the nearest plug socket and gently stroke the metallic bits with you index finger.

You get an electric shock, but it isn't that bad. You close your eyes and sense the electricity running around and through the room. You can sense electricity normally, but the process is so much faster when you can access a direct current of electricity. Plus you’ve barely eaten all day and you’re dehydrated. You could use the boost.

Something is… off. You can sense it. There's something electrical under the bed.

You stand and turn, ignoring Bucky who is standing near the closed door and observing you. You kneel down next to the bed and lift up the covers. There are drawers. Your mouth twitches anxiously, not knowing what's underneath the bed. You glance at Bucky who stares impassively back. Finding the courage, you heave the drawer open with little effort.

What you see makes you start a little. All of the electronic equipment you both brought are in a pile and all are broken. But next to it, there are pictures. Your eyes widen and you lean over to see them better. It's individual photos of the members of the Avengers walking around New York. They’re recently taken as the time and date is in white print on the pictures. _They were taken today._ A folded note is next to them. Cautiously, you pick it up.

Inside there are words in a woman's handwriting: _One phone call and I shoot_. It's signed _Hail HYDRA_ , at the bottom. “Bucky…” The man walks over to you and reads the note, then sees the pictures in the drawer. He inhales sharply. “We can't contact the others.” You look at him with a fear in your eyes. “We need to take our things and leave this hotel.” He purses his lips but moves away from you to get his gear. You drop the note and do the same. The pair of you search through your bags for any trackers before heading out.

It's clear to you now: the woman who left that building earlier and killed all of those people left you these photos. She's been watching you this entire time.

***

Now in full gear, you both hoist your backpacks on and make your way across Seattle to find somewhere inconspicuous to stay. Settling for a beaten up looking place, you decide it’s safer to share a room. The look of those bodies littered around keep flashing through your head. You’re sat on the bed and you zone out once more. You jolt when Bucky gently places a hand on your shoulder. “You had a glassy look in your eyes,” he says softly, sitting next to you on the bed. You swallow and rub your eyes with the back of your hand.

“Yeah, I keep thinking about those… bodies. In that warehouse.” He nods in understanding, the hand dropping onto your knee comfortingly. “It was that woman,” you grit out. “The one who left the warehouse. She did this and walked away.” The hand tightens.

“We’ll get her, don’t worry.” You sigh, placing your hand over his without hesitation. It's warm and calloused but his fingers tightening around yours are comforting.

“I hope so.” You slump against Bucky and rest your head on his shoulder. “You know, when Nat said I was going on a mission for a week, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind,” you mumble. Bucky snorts.

“It never is.”

***

“Hey,” you hear softly. You blink owlishly and look up to see Bucky's gentle smile. “You started to fall asleep.” You squint and rub your head, lifting it off of his shoulder. “We should probably get some rest,” he says and you choose that moment to yawn loudly. He chuckles and stands. Tiredly, you crawl over to the other side of the bed and unzip your bag. Pulling out your PJ's you get changed, feeling exhausted. There's the click of the bathroom door as Bucky goes into the en suite to change. When you're done, you peel off the duvet and basically fall into the sheets. It doesn't take long for you to be on the edge of sleep.

The door clicks shut as Bucky exits the bathroom and it jolts you awake. You breathe out, your heart racing at the sudden scare. Bucky mutters a quiet apology and settles down on the floor. “Don't sleep on the floor,” you mumble. “Floors not comfy. Get your ass up on the bed.” When there's no response, you crack your eyes open. You can see the top of his head and a pair of eyes peeking at you over the covers. It looks hilarious, and if you weren't so tired you'd be laughing. Shifting over to make more room _(annoyingly on a now cold spot on the mattress)_ you pat the bed. Your eyes slip closed and you smile when there’s a dip in the bed as Bucky hesitantly climbs onto it to join you.

You doze peacefully until-

“We haven't talked much.” His voice rips you from your chance of slumber and you bite back and annoyed curse.

“Wha’zat?”

“We haven't talked much… you know, about us.” You don't have the energy to glare. _You're bringing this up now of all times? Goddammit._

“What about us?” You say, rubbing your eyes to keep yourself awake.

“You know what I'm talking about.”

“Do I?”

“Y/N,” he says, more serious.

“Bucky?” He sighs, exasperated and you smile in amusement. “So we're soulmates. What about it?” _Ain’t that the question_. Bucky frowns, his features just about lit up by the moon and city lights coming through the window.

“I don't know, I just feel like I should be doing more about it.” _Wow, same! It’s almost like we were born to be together. Wait a sec..._ He licks his lips, a soft crinkle between his brows forming. “I feel like I don't really know you.” You stretch a little and suppress a yawn. _The feeling’s mutual honey peach._

“Ask away,” you say, puffing up the pillow and smushing your cheek against it. At this there's silence. You smile because Bucky doesn't know what to ask. “Let's see…” you tap your lip thoughtfully. “I like music, although my taste in it is changeable. Food is awesome, especially Steve's cooking. Technology fascinates me, but I always end up accidentally destroying it with my powers, which sucks severely.” You hum as you think of more things to say. _Maybe something more personal?_ You hesitate, but decide to get it out. For who could you tell if not your soulmate?

“I, uh, I got my powers when I was little.” You frown down at your hands as you wring them nervously. This probably isn’t the best way to properly introduce who you are to Bucky, but you’ve started now. “As a child, I was really sick. I had some kind of mutated illness which meant I was dying.” You press your lips together in a tight line. Trying to talk about this has always been hard, so you never have. Bucky’s the first person to know. “My parents were desperate. My mother started going crazy, looking for something that could cure me. My father was a chemist-” your voice tightens and your throat closes off. _Wow, this is harder than I thought it would be._ You give yourself a few moments to try to calm down before continuing.

“My father was a chemist and he experimented on me to find a cure.” Bucky turns his head to face you now, a look on his face you can't decipher. _Yeah, this probably wasn’t a great topic to start on._ “I must have only been… what? Five? But it hurt like hell. They did it because they loved me, but it was torture.” You lip pulls downward as you take a trip down memory lane. “My brother was always there for me. But I became scared of them. I became scared of my parents. Of course, I still loved them to bits, but I was still afraid. My father found a cure, but… well. It had side effects.” You raise a hand in front of your face and create a burning sphere of electricity between your fingers. The light is harsh on your eyes, so in a flash, you make it disappear again. The sphere of light burnt into your retinas and you can see it when you blink, so you let your eyes close and keep them shut.

“My mother was overjoyed at the cure but my father… he couldn't live with himself. He knew he'd illegally used his daughter as a patient and he turned to drinking.” You heave a breath and continue. “I think he was haunted by my cries of agony…” You clear your throat. “Anyway, of course he was grateful I was alive- well, I think he was - but he wasn't happy at the cost. He started to say… he started to say that he wished I'd just died. My mother was furious. She wasn't particularly violent, but she knew how to hurt someone when they overstepped. One night they were arguing and it just got too much.”

A warm hand covers your fist and squeezes. You retract your hand in a flinch. “I _killed_ them,” you rasp. “I got scared and I overloaded and I _killed_ them.” You turn and sit up on the edge of the bed. “I ran away with my brother and we never looked back.” You can't bear to look at the look of horror and disgust that must be on his face. _He must wish he's not my soulmate._ A tear slips down your cheek that you're powerless to stop. There's a sigh from behind you. It doesn't sound harsh, just tired.

“I've done things too.” A voice says. “HYDRA made me into a machine. They'd tell me to kill someone and I'd do it. I didn't even think about it. But as the effects of the chair started to wear off, as I started to remember Steve, I started to realise how inhumane I was. I may not have tortured people, but I still remember how they begged not to be killed before I murdered them.”

It's then that you start and realise that you're not alone, that someone is going through a recovery that you've been fighting your whole life. _Two broken souls, how fitting_. You don't move from where you are and neither does he. Eventually, though, you move to get up.

“Please don't go,” Bucky's says, voice timid and vulnerable. You halt your movements and turn your head in his direction, your eyes on the duvet and not on him. The longer you stare at it, the harder your decision is. _Do I want to hurt and heal, or do I want to run away?_ The answer is obvious; you want to run away and pretend this conversation never happened. But you should stay. Bucky's your soulmate for a reason, right? You clench your eyes shut and shake your head, but you return to your now cold spot back under the covers. “Thank you,” he whispers. Your only response is to wiggle over to him. He wraps you up in his arms and you wordlessly lay there with him in the dark. It could be moments, it could be hours, but you finally do fall asleep.

***

The next morning isn't as awkward as you thought it would be. Bucky is already up and moving by the time you've woken up and he doesn't mention the talk you had last night. You're drained and tired, so you're grateful that he doesn't bring it up. Instead, you both talk about your plan of action. You need to figure out who the woman is exactly and how to somehow take her down.

So the pair of you spend the morning with a map of Seattle. Bucky seems a little more relaxed around you now than before. He’s started teasing you about little things and allows himself to laugh. He doesn’t seem to be hesitating to sit a little closer to you too. You enjoy being closer to him; it makes you feel happier now that you’re getting along.

Together you spend time mapping out all of the potential hiding places that would be strategic for HYDRA to be at. Both of you have made the decision to not call in the team for now. You’re not sure if the woman is bluffing about having guns on them, but you don’t want to risk it. Finally managing to narrow down the list of hiding spots to about three, you agree on splitting up and investigating them individually. The afternoon in Seattle is cloudy, but hot. You stealth gear sticks to your sweaty back and makes you tug at it in discomfort. It’s better to be uncomfortable than dead, though, so you don’t complain. Much.

The first area you search is the district in North East Seattle. You thoroughly search the suspected buildings, looking for any secret pathways or entrances. There’s nothing there.

You wonder how Bucky is doing with checking out the next suspected area; central Seattle. You don’t think too much on it, though, and speedily dash around to the district of Queen Anne. The area is annoyingly busy, so you have to stick to the rooftops to avoid being spotted by civilians in the broad daylight of the mid-afternoon. It takes time, as each building you have to be wary of cameras that could easily spot you. You need to be careful and stay clear of those, in case HYDRA is watching them somehow. You don’t stop for a break, but you do slow down your pace a fraction to look at the amazing view. You can see the enormous structure of the Space Needle from here and it’s stunning to look at. _Oh man, I really wanna go visit that thing._ Finally managing to tear your eyes away, you resume your previous pace and reach the designated building.

The blocks around it seem to be mostly abandoned; a few low life druggies loiter around, but other than that, no one else seems to be there. Until, that is, you get closer to the centre. As soon as you spot one HYDRA agent, you know that this has got to be where she will be. After securing the perimeter, you settle down out of sight and wait for Bucky to find you.

***

Poking your head around the corner, you relay what you’ve seen to Bucky. “Seven hostiles.” You turn back to see him nod briefly. He clicks the safety off of his gun. “Ready?” He flashes you a grim smile. You return it. To be fair neither of you have a set plan, but your first port of call is to pick off the annoying lackeys surrounding the buildings. Then you’ll regroup and figure out your next steps. “I’ve got these guys. We should pick them off first. I know she’s somewhere in that building.” Bucky nods and quickly squeezes your shoulder before disappearing off to find a secure route into the building.

Turning the corner, guns instantly start to fire to your right and you send an electrical pulse through the air that makes the bullets drop to the ground. Using both hands, you send another pulse in the directions of the goons, throwing them backwards into the wall of the building. All four fall to the floor, unconscious.

A fist hits you in the face and your stumble backwards. _Rude_ , you think, offended, before hitting them in the face about three times harder. Another two agents run at you from two different directions as the other crumples to the floor. You crouch and launch into the air, scissor kicking them brutally in their stomachs. _Idiots_. You scrutinise the area around you to see that you’ve picked off all the ones nearby. Bucky must be somewhere around here, dispatching all the others. You check around a corner and can see some other bodies littered around, indicating that Bucky’s been there.

You jog back over to the wall and analyse the height of the building, judging whether or not you should get to the roof. Finally deciding to do so, you crouch once more and use a pulse of electricity to throw you higher into the air. You get about three-fifths of the way up and climb up the rest. You peek over the edge to see a collection of about six lackeys around the centre of the roof. Deciding not to delay, you quickly clamber over the edge of the building and onto the roof. They immediately spot you and run at you. Guns are fired, but thankfully you’re not hit.

It takes longer to defeat most of these agents, but you eventually get all but one. A female one is standing passively opposite you, not looking tired out at all. You, however, are panting from exertion. She starts to walk towards you and your tilt your head, cracking your neck in preparation, before running at her.

You catch her fist and she catches yours simultaneously. She’s freaky strong, so you immediately push her off of you. Quickly, you jump kick her in the chest and she stumbles backwards. Not hesitating for a moment, you jump up and push your weight onto her shoulders so she bends forward. You knee her in the chest again and she wheezes, an arm flailing out to the side. Throwing your weight under her outstretched arm, you kick your legs into the air above her head, causing her to overbalance. As she falls forward, you flip over her arm, doing a full three-sixty to land on your feet. However, the woman uses her momentum to fluidly land on the floor and swing her legs out to knock you over too. You manage to stay standing, but she delivers a kick in your abdomen which hurts like hell.

You watch as she flips herself up into a fighting stance before once again launching herself at you. The woman does a move freakishly similar to Natasha - she climbs up your side before you can react and wraps her legs around your throat to overbalance you and knock you over. Unfortunately, it works. She rolls out of the way as you fall heavily to the floor. A foot kicks into your stomach and you gasp. Then she lifts her foot up and slams down heavily onto your stomach. You don’t even have the breath to cry out in pain.

Weakly, you raise a hand to retaliate, but you’re mercilessly kicked in the head. It feels like your brain is rattling around in your skull as you roll to the side. Heaving a deep breath, you grip the roof of the building as well as you can before swinging your legs around, knocking the woman’s feet out from under her. You feel the vibration as she thuds to the floor, and you know you have to be quick otherwise she’ll be on you again. Ignoring your sick feeling, you throw your weight forward so that you're on top of her. Straddling her, you pin her hands down above her head as she goes to attack you again. You use one of the last few dregs of your energy to send an electric shock through her wrists that renders her unconscious. _Should've bloody started with that._

As soon as you stand, you stumble over and heave. Everything is tilting; that kick must’ve given you some kind of concussion. You hear a loud, heavy _cha-ching_ and look up. You haven’t even fully comprehended the missile launcher before one is fired directly at you.

A force in the shape of Bucky slams into your side. In what feels like slow motion, you watch the missile impact the building and explode, clouds of violent red and black bursting from the tip as it impacts. You’re taken off of the edge of the building by Bucky, but the pulse from the explosion throws you both further. Bucky wraps his hands tightly around you and you cling to him as he rotates the pair of you so you’re on top. The both of you slam into the ground as one. You’re gasping in shock, barely able to breathe from the hard impact. Bucky’s arms are loosely around you and as you lift yourself, they fall lifelessly to the ground. You look up in horror to see Bucky lying still. _Bucky took most of the impact._

“Bucky?” Your voice is a whisper amongst the burning debris of the now forgotten building. “Bucky?” Your voice comes out louder and more desperate now as there’s no response. Your ears are ringing horribly, but you do your best to ignore that. You crawl over near his head and kneel beside it, your hands hovering over him. _No,_ you think. _No, this can’t be happening_. You don’t care that that crazy woman is getting away, you don’t care that the plan failed because of the bomb. Instead, you’re stuck feeling lost. You gently check him for signs of life. He’s breathing. He has a pulse. _Thank fucking Christ Almighty_. You’re still disorientated from your head injury, but your mind is clear enough to notice the HYDRA agents rushing towards you.

There’s a lot of them.

Feeling a pang of fear, you stand from Bucky’s body and quickly assess that there’s too many to count. Your fists clench. _You can’t have him_. You know they want their asset back, but they’re not getting him while you’re still breathing. _I’m not going down without a fight_ , you bare your teeth and electricity crackles around your hands. Your fear solidifies into determination, your body pumping with adrenaline.

You attack the nearest agent. The man raises a gun and you push his arm to the side and twist it so he drops it. He turns to you, a fist raised, but you knee him in the gut before he can retaliate. You can hear another agent coming up behind you, so removing your knee from the man’s abdomen, you swing your leg back, kicking the other agent behind you who bends over in pain. Pushing your leg forward once again, you kick the male in the privates. As he doubles over, you knock him out with a punch and turn to face the other agent. He manages to hit you in the face and you bite your tongue. But you push on despite the blood collecting in your mouth. You duck to miss his next punch, and the next. However, you can’t miss him hitting you in the stomach. A sharp pain radiates through your lower abdomen, but you can’t let them get to Bucky. With a fevered desperation, you deliver a punch that breaks the opponent's nose and pushes it back into his skull. You know this kills him, but you don’t have time to think about that.

You fight standing only metres away from Bucky’s body, determined not to let any agent get past you. It gets harder and harder; you’re already exhausted, you’re already injured but you _cannot_ fail. More and more agents flood in. You’re buzzing with frantic panic. Nevertheless, you fight on. You _can’t_ lose Bucky; not after what you talked about, not after finally making some kind of friendship between you work. _I can’t lose him._

Dispatching agent after agent, you end up going from fighting three at a time, to fighting five or six. It’s so difficult with no backup, and you’re in no way qualified to fight like this. With your powers, you’re better as a sniper, not as a close combat fighter. Usually, you like to subdue your enemies and not kill them. Now, though, with your declining energy and terror, you don’t hesitate to think about killing those who come at you.

You don’t know how long you fight for, but it’s so long.

Gasping, you look around you at what must be fifty or so agents littered around. You stumble and nearly fall to your knees. Blood is practically pouring down your face and over your hands, but you don’t feel the pain through your adrenaline.

An empty feeling shoots through you as dozens of agents surround you once more. You take a deep breath and scream in frustration. Throwing your hands out in opposite directions, you fire bolts of electricity which hit their targets. Not stopping there, the bolts fire between the agents, blowing up their electronics and heavily injuring each person. Clouds form above you and within seconds a strike of lightning hits you, channeling its current through your body. You feel it burning within you and direct it to each of the agents in a matter of milliseconds. In a film, it would be comical to watch the powerless agents get thrown around by the intense current. This isn’t a film, though.

The event doesn’t even last a minute, but every last agent is gone. Bucky is safe. You sigh and collapse onto the ground. It takes so much effort to heave yourself on all fours and drag yourself to Bucky’s head. When you get to him, you cradle his head against your bloodied top and cry. Resting your forehead against his, you pray that he’s going to be alright.

***

A hand smacks your face. “Y/N?” A worried voice sounds in front of you. Dizzily, you open your blurry eyes to see a shape in front of you. _Must be Bucky_ , you think, feeling your eyelids start to slip closed again. The hand hits your cheek once again. “You’ve got a knife in your stomach,” he says. His voice sounds calm, but there’s a tone of panic which you can detect. Clumsily, you run a hand over your abdomen and find the hilt.

“Oh,” you mumble, looking down. “It appears I have.” You grip the knife.

“I wouldn’t-” You yank it out in one full movement and howl in absolute agony. “ _Jesus Chris_ _t_ , I was going to tell you not to pull it out because it’s serrated, but _fuck,_ ” a hand pushes down onto your wound and the other guides you to lay down. You snort tiredly which turns into more of a groan.

“Thought you were gon’ die,” you slur with a long sigh. At Bucky’s worried look you reach a hand up and pat his face a bit forcefully. “S’okay, it’ll heal, jus’ gimme a few.” Your vision is swimming horribly, so you shut your eyes, your head lolling to the side. Bucky smacks your face.

“Stay awake please.” You muster the energy to send a weak glare in his general direction. You keep your eyes open though. You can feel your flesh knit itself together slowly. If you’re honest, you’re surprised that you’re even healing after draining your energy so much. _But hey, let’s not jinx it._ You zone out, so you flinch when the world spins dramatically as Bucky picks you up in his arms. You think you can hear the sound of sirens as the authorities head over to the area. Burning red fills your vision as you see fire and thick smoke pulsing out of buildings. You'd forgotten that a bomb had even gone off. You think you can hear a chopper above too, but you can’t see it thanks to the smoke overhead. With a heavy thud, you drop your head down against Bucky’s chest and allow yourself to finally pass out.

***

As you slowly come to, you’re aware of an immense pain in your chest. Your breaths start to become more painful the more conscious you become. Moans of pain escape your lips weakly as you wheeze, trying to move into a more comfortable position. The dilemma is that there isn’t actually a comfortable position. Not long after you’ve stirred, a cold hand gingerly cups your cheek. You lean into the tender touch. “M’on fire,” you mumble, your words almost incoherent. Bucky somehow manages to pick them up, though.

“Yeah, well you should see your… veins.” Your frown in confusion, your eyes still shut. Veins? You raise a hand to cover your eyes, but your coordination skills don’t really seem to be working. You accidentally punch yourself in the face and grunt in mild surprise. Once your eyes are covered, you cautiously open them, the darkness behind your palm enabling your eyes to adjust to the light gradually rather than painfully and all at once. Finally, your eyes adjust and you see what Bucky is talking about.

Your veins are purple. You manage to sit up so you can observe yourself in disbelief. Everywhere on you, literally every vein is _purple_. The colour is stark and stands out against your sickly pale skin. You look at Bucky with a squint of confusion and he just shrugs. Your head hurts still from when that annoying woman kicked you, but it’s certainly clearer than what it was earlier. “How long-” you break out into a painful coughing fit. Bucky seems to understand what you’re asking.

“You’ve been unconscious for two days. I-” He presses his mouth into a thin line before admitting, “I was scared that I was going to lose you.” You make grabby hands at Bucky and he looks at you with a confused expression. You make a gesture that tells him to come over. As soon as he’s near you, you rest your head against him and he holds you tightly. “Please don’t do that again.” You huff.

“What? Get stabbed?” You snort softly. “I’ll try not to.” Bucky squeezes your frame.

“I thought you were gonna die.” You sigh into his chest and breathe in his musky scent.

“Nah,” you mumble tiredly, shutting your eyes. “Super fast healing is a part of my package.” Bucky kisses the crown of your head a few times. You guess he’s still worried. Heck, with your veins being bright purple you’re worried too. Gently, you lift your head off of him and thump it back against his chest to get his attention. Not that you don’t already have it. “Hey,” you mutter. “I’m still alive. Still here. It’s okay.” He just holds you and gently rocks.

If Bucky’s shaking and a few tears drop on top of your head, you don’t mention it and neither does Bucky. You slip into sleep once more.

***

“We need to tell the others-”

“How? Just how are you planning to do that Bucky? She’s got snipers on them - she’ll kill them before it finishes dialling!” You’d woken up later on the same day. Bucky had helped give you some of your strength back by giving you some food and drink. Right now, though, you were having an argument about your next step.

“They’ll eventually figure something out won’t they? We’re only supposed to contact them after five days! This is the fifth! We should contact them to let them know something’s gone horribly wrong! We should have done that before you got hurt!” You breathe harshly between your teeth, swaying a little on your feet. You don’t really feel well enough to be standing, but your stubbornness is beating your need to sit down. You’re dizzy, but you don’t back down.

“We need to finish this before anyone else gets hurt, Bucky.” You take a few steps closer to him, pleading. He doesn’t back down, though.

“We’ll call in the team and they’ll help solve the damn problem.”

“She’ll kill them!”

“Not if we find a way first!” He places his hands on your shoulders to steady you. “We can’t beat her, not like this.” You bitterly agree, but that doesn’t mean you want to risk the team.

“Bucky…” Your voice trails off. His lips brush against your forehead softly, tenderly. He rests his forehead against yours. Closing your eyes, you relax a little in his embrace, shivering at his warmth. Ever since you’ve woken up, you’ve been sensitive to the cold more than usual. It clocked for you earlier that the reason why your skin has gone funny and your veins are discoloured is because you were struck by lightning. You memory of that event is hazy, but that you remember clearly. You sigh. “I’m so tired.” At this, Bucky pulls away. You miss his contact. He wraps an arm around your shoulders and guides you back over to the bed.

“Maybe you should rest some more. I’ll see if I can figure out a way of contacting the team.” He rests you down and pulls the covers over you. You feel a pang of something akin to longing and you don’t understand why as it rushes through you when he kisses your forehead once more. A strange feeling urges you to just be close to him. As he pulls away, you place a hand around the back of his neck and pull him back down. You reach up and press your lips to his. He stiffens for a moment, but then exhales through his nose and presses back against you. You realise that his lips are warm and chapped as you nibble on his lower lip tenderly. All too soon, he’s straddling your hips and peppering your face and neck with kisses.

You realise that he’s following a vein as he stops where your top is. He immediately rises back up and gracefully captures you into another kiss. There’s a delicate force in his kiss and this time when he pulls away he rests his forehead against yours. “I don’t want to lose you,” he whispers. You sigh, defeated.

“Okay, Bucky. We’ll call in the Avengers.” He kisses your forehead again before extracting himself off of you, careful not to reawaken any of your currently healing injuries.

“Thank you,” he breathes relief evident in his voice. His cool breath rolls against your head and you suppress another shiver. “Get some rest.” You nod tiredly and shut your eyes with a sigh.

***

Hearing soft talking, you awaken. Opening your eyes, you’re surprised to see Natasha in a discussion with Bucky. _Bloody hell, how long was I out for?_ You move to sit up, but your ribs protest and you collapse with a pained groan. The talking stops. You open your eyes, squinting to see Natasha now stood in front of you. Her gaze is laced with soft concern and anger.

“We’re sending you and Bucky back to the tower. Me, Steve, Clint and Wanda are continuing your mission. We’ve got backup from SHIELD if we need it. Y/N, I’m so sorry that this happened.” You crack a tired grin.

“Well, your crazy matchmaking plan worked, though.” A few seconds later, Natasha gives a small smile. “But thanks. This crazy woman is already driving me mad and I’ve only seen her once.”

It’s not long before you’re whizzed onto one of Tony’s private jets and you’re being taken back to New York. _And hey, no driving this time. Yay._ You and Bucky are curled up in each other's embrace for almost the whole plane journey.

“I never thought I’d find you, you know.” You hum in acknowledgement at his words. “When I first understood my words, the ones on my hip, I remember I was puzzled.” He snorts. “I guess I had both arms then.” You were paying attention to him anyway, but it’s then that you _really_ pay attention. You pull away from his chest and look up at him. He gives you a crooked smile. “I always believed I would find you; I never doubted it for a second.” He licks his lips and rubs your back nervously. His eyes look like they're filled with sorrow, though. “But then HYDRA happened. I kept getting put in cryo and I started to doubt that I’d find you.” Your heart breaks a little with every word he says. “They wiped my memory again and again and again and I was worried when I finally got away from them. I panicked because I could have already met you and I'd never be able to remember.” You look at him, not really knowing what to say. Wordlessly, you grasp his warm hand and squeeze it tightly.

“I'm here,” you say clearly. “I'm here and I'm never going to leave you.” _I promise._ Bucky shuts his eyes and rests his head back against the seat. “I was always sure I'd meet you. My brother always used to tell me stories of how I'd be the princess and my soulmate would be the prince.” Your fond smile fades into more of a grimace. You subconsciously start to rub your thumb in circles over Bucky's hand. “As I grew up I doubted it, though. Nobody said those words to me and as I grew older I became more convinced I was more of a witch rather than a princess. I couldn't control myself properly.” Your jaw clenches when you remember you're on a plane. “I don't like planes,” you admit timidly. “I'm always afraid I'll knock them out of the sky.” The hand on your lower back rises up to your shoulder and pulls you back down to Bucky's chest. He kisses your head. You've noticed he's started doing that a lot lately. Not that you mind.

“We'll be okay,” he says. You're not sure whose benefit he's saying it for. Nonetheless, his words comfort you.

***

“Bucky,” you whine, stretching his name out. “I’m _bored._ ” He snorts in response and continues to type away on his tablet. “Entertain me!” You flop down against his arm dramatically, your hand resting on your forehead as if you’re going to faint. You can see that he’s trying so hard not to laugh at you. Something must be done about that. You roll so you’re laying down with your head resting on his lap. “Bucky,” you repeat. “Bucky I’m _bored_.” You lift your head and gently headbutt the tablet. He almost drops it on your face. You huff with feigned annoyance and roll off of the sofa. Sitting back down next to him feeling defeated and grumpy, you grab a cushion and throw it at his face. At this, he bursts out laughing. “God dammit,” you groan dramatically and throw your arms over your face.

Suddenly, you’re hit with a force. You make a noise of surprise as Bucky jumps on top of you, trapping you in your place. “Jesus _fuck_ , you’re heavy. Get off,” you try and push him off but he just lays on top of you shuddering with laughter. You can’t stop your responding grin.

“You wanted me, doll, and now you’ve got me.” His laughter dies down to chuckles. “Be careful what you wish for.” You huff, trying to fight back your smile.

“You’re such an asshole,” he chuckles again and picks his tablet back up from the floor to start tapping at it again. “Christ; seriously the feeling is leaving my legs.” He still doesn’t move. You see him scrolling through some kind of article, holding the tablet up over his face as he reads it. You decide to be an asshole too, so with a grin you tap the back of it. It overbalances and it smacks him right in the face.

“Ow,” he mutters. It’s your turn to laugh now. He sits up and suddenly there’s blood flow back in your legs. You get pins and needles so you reach over and rub your legs down. You sneak a glance over in his direction and Bucky captures your gaze. You crack a smile and he gives one back.

You stand up and stretch, cracking some bones. Yawning, you ask him if he wants anything while you’re up. He says no. You shrug and trot off to the kitchen to get yourself something edible. You hum as you make yourself a sandwich. You steal some leftover, slightly spiced, chicken from yesterday’s dinner and nick some salad to jazz things up a bit. You exit the kitchen, sandwich in tow, and head back to the living room. You plonk yourself back down next to Bucky and tuck in. You’re about a quarter of the way through when you notice he’s watching you. You ignore his existence and carry on eating.

Over the last few weeks, you and Bucky had developed a playful relationship. After the stressful five days away and the capture of that crazy HYDRA woman, you’ve both recovered _(and thank God my veins are no longer a creepy shade of purple)_. The team have started to pick up on your friendly banter since your return, and they’re happy that Bucky’s finally started to crawl out of the shell he was hiding in. Steve’s particularly pleased; he doesn’t stop grinning like the Cheshire cat when he sees you both.

You place your half eaten sandwich down as you chew in thought. When you go to pick it up again, your hand hits an empty plate. “Wha- _hey!_ ” You look over to see Bucky munching on the second half of your sandwich as he flicks through more articles. You place your plate down next to you and try and grab the sandwich. “Get your own, pal!” Bucky leans away from you, making the sandwich just out of your grasp.

“But your sandwiches are nice,” he laughs as you attempt and fail to get the sandwich back. You’re not actually mad at him; you knew he’d take it at some point. It would seem that Bucky’s first words to you - _I don’t like salad or eye contact_ \- weren’t true after all. He keeps on stealing your salad sandwiches and spends a lot of time staring into your eyes. Not that you mind. You slump down in defeat, pretending to be annoyed.

“Could’ve just asked,” you mutter petulantly. He takes another bite from the food with a shit eating grin. You laugh fondly, love in your eyes as you look at him and a happy smile on your face. “Asshole.”

***

“So apparently, you don’t know how to dance,” Bucky’s smug voice sounds out into the living room. You shut off your phone with a scowl. _Tony must be telling everyone, that annoying man-child._ There’s a charity event that Tony’s holding which for some reason involves dressing smartly and dancing. You pull a face at Bucky’s amused one. “Hey, it’s okay. I can totally teach you.” Your annoyed expression turns to a mildly surprised one.

“Oh?” You raise an eyebrow at him in disbelief. “Why would you want to teach me to dance? I’d probably step on your foot and break something.” He snorts. “No! Seriously! I’m awful,” you say, trying to convince him. He just rolls his eyes dramatically with a grin.

“And that’s why I’ll teach you.” You sigh, feeling a little defeated. You shrug and stand. Waving him over with a challenging smile you walk over to the centre of the room.

“Then teach me, o guru.” You laugh as Bucky waltzes towards you, a mock serious expression on his face as he dances by himself. You whack his arm when he gets to you. “Dork,” you chuckle, reaching up to kiss him on the cheek. He chuckles.

“I think you missed.” You mock gasp in response, placing a hand against your chest dramatically.

“I’m ever so sorry, Mr Barnes.” You kiss his other cheek and when you pull back you see his pout. He makes his lip wobble like he’s about to cry, but you can see his eyes crinkling with silent, suppressed laughter. You grin and kiss him on the lips.

The pair of you spend hours dancing - _well, Bucky’s dancing, I’m just trying not to squish his toes_ \- and finally you start to clock the movements. Waltzing is stupidly easy, you figure out. Jiving is pretty fun; that’s one of Bucky’s favourites. You both chatter away and laugh as Bucky spins you, music quietly playing in the background.

When you first met Bucky, you were convinced that he didn’t like you, let alone love you. Now, though, you have no such qualms. You both spend the rest of the afternoon slowly dancing, watching the sun out of the window of the tower as it sinks lower, disappearing into the sea.


End file.
